Dependent Tuition Assistance Changes
How Has the Dependent Tuition Assistance Benefit Amount Changed?
The Dependent Tuition Assistance benefit has been refined and enhanced so that it is more equitable to the dependents of faculty and staff. Previously, the benefit was 50 percent of general and instructional fees based on the undergraduate rate. Now, it is based on the degree program in which the dependent is enrolled.
Effective Summer Quarter 2009, the program pays based on the dependent’s instructional and general fees. A dependent of one eligible employee receives a 50 percent benefit up to a maximum of $2,812.50 per quarter or $4,220 per semester; a dependent of two eligible employees receives a 75 percent benefit up to a maximum of $4,218.75 per quarter or $6,330 per semester.
Note: These dollar amounts are based on the 2009–2010 academic year and are subject to change.
Who is an eligible dependent for the university’s Dependent Tuition Assistance Program?
- An eligible employee’s legal spouse
- An eligible employee’s declared same-sex domestic partner and/or their unmarried dependent child
- An eligible unmarried dependent child
Dependent Child Categories:
- Daughter
- Son
- Stepdaughter
- Stepson
- Adopted Child (or a child who is legally placed with the eligible employee for adoption)
- Foster Child (who has lived with the eligible employee for at least five years)
An eligible unmarried dependent child must meet one of the above dependent child categories and be either a qualifying child or qualifying relative to qualify for tax-free tuition assistance.
What is the difference between a qualifying child and a qualifying relative?
Qualifying Child
- Eligible child must live in the eligible employee’s home for at least half of the calendar year
- Eligible employee must provide at least 50 percent of the eligible child’s support
- Eligible child must be younger than age 24:
1. If both parents of an eligible child are deceased, the child can remain their dependent until his/her 25th birthday, assuming the other requirements of being a tax-eligible dependent are met
2. A disabled child need not meet the age requirement
Qualifying Relative
- A qualifying relative cannot be a qualifying child of the eligible employee or any other tax payer
- The eligible child’s income must be less than the federal annual income tax exemption amount
- The eligible employee must provide more than 50 percent of the child’s support
What scenarios would cause this benefit to have tax implications for me?
- Graduate-level tuition assistance benefits are subject to taxation. This legislation is subject to change.
- The full tuition assistance benefit for a dependent child who reaches the age of 24 but does not meet the qualifying child or qualifying relative criteria is subject to taxation.
- The full tuition assistance benefit for a same-sex domestic partner and/or his or her dependent child is subject to taxation.
For additional information on the taxability of this benefit, contact OHR Payroll Services at taxoffice@hr.osu.edu, (614) 292-2311, hr.osu.edu/payroll/taxgradclass, or refer to IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.